Diving in the Canary Islands

Diving in the Canary Islands at Gran Canaria
By Frances Van Den Berg

Scuba Diving in the Canary Islands is the southernmost diving available in Europe and is just a stone's throw from North African waters. Canary Island diving is no better experienced than on Gran Canaria, the third largest island of the chain. Owing to its biological diversity, UNESCO approved Gran Canaria as a World Biosphere Reserve in 2004. The island offers one of the world's best climates and year-round diving for marine enthusiasts. Another plus for tourist is that the shelf around the island is an ideal depth for recreational diving (20 - 24 metres).

The waters off the tranquil town of Arinaga in Gran Canaria are in fact celebrated as a marine reserve in their own right, and are called 'El Cabró' owing to the diversity and richness of marine life there. Tourism authorities also consider it the best diving in the Canary Islands. The area is rich in stone arches, swim-throughs and cliffs which makes for some glorious underwater scenery. The marine life is no less impressive with shoals of roncadores, baracuda, wrasse and parrotfish commonplace in the aquatic reserve. Eleven species, for example the Bart Umbrines, are in fact entirely unique to the region.

'Hole in the wall' is one of many magnificent Canary Island dive sites in the 'El Cabró' waters, with an average depth of 20 metres and top ratings from expert divers. The shore dive starts off gently and takes the diver through a magical underwater stone arch teeming with trumpet fish, giant anemones and many other species. Further on, a cavern opens up a treasure chest of red shrimp and more hidden sea life.

Planes from the UK to Gran Canaria arrive at Las Palmas airport and this area offers the La Catedral dive, which is reachable by boat but the winds and tides need to be closely monitored before embarking on this particular Canary Island diving adventure. The cavern dive offers spectacular underwater rock formations inhabited by prawns and crabs. It stretches down to a lengthy 45m and light streaming through the entry points above make it all the more spectacular. Be warned though, this is a dive for the experienced.

Shore diving in the Canary Islands can be accessed off the beaches of the smaller bays, such as Amadore, Taurito and Medio Almudh, although they are steep and rather rocky beaches. The local nudist beach at Medio Almudh is perfect for gentle shore diving and snorkelling with good visibility, although you may have to forego the wetsuit.

Diving in the Canary Islands offers endless and varied opportunities, so consider this for your next summer diving destination. The waters in summer are warm and require only a very thin wetsuit, and if you spend a good few weeks on one Canary island, you can extend your boundaries and catch a ferry or short flight to a neighbouring island for a visit.

Frances wrote this article for Dive Time Diving in the Canary Islands
"Divetime.com is the premier Scuba diving destination on the internet, with a unique offering of Scuba related information and services to divers everywhere"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frances_Van_Den_Berg
http://EzineArticles.com/?Diving-in-the-Canary-Islands-at-Gran-Canaria&id=2123290